After Ever
by Fairady
Summary: What do you do when it's all over and not quite done? SH4
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own the characters and story line of Silent Hill 4. -snorts- And if you seriously believe that leave me your contact info and I'll get in touch with you about some land you can buy. It's a bit on the sandy and bullet ridden side, but it's a real bargain.

Warnings: Set after the games so spoilers for the good ending and the game itself.

Notes: Hm, dreams give the most frustrating ideas, because stories never seem to be so slow when you're asleep. Well, here's a series of connected drabbles.

After Ever  
by Fairady

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Bay View Apartments wasn't in the best part of town. Not from the view of statistics in the newspaper, or from the view of anyone with eyes who roamed the streets around it. In the hour he spent filling out paperwork Henry heard sirens six different times.

It wasn't even that good of a complex. The building was run down, the walls were paper thin, and everything in it looked prone to break at the most inconvenient of times. The bugs and rats were just par for the course. The landlord seemed more interested in watching her soaps than fixing those problems.

Bay View was nothing like Lakeshore. In fact, it was almost the complete opposite of that complex. Which was the one thing that had made Henry sign the lease.

It was exactly what Eileen needed, what they _both_ needed.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own the characters and story line of Silent Hill 4. -snorts- And if you seriously believe that leave me your contact info and I'll get in touch with you all about that money I'm owed.

Warnings: Set after the games so spoilers for the good ending and the game itself.

Notes: How do you explain a dead serial killer coming back to continue and not get sent to an asylum?

After Ever  
by Fairady

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Eileen panics when she can't see Henry.

She became convinced that he'd disappeared into another hole she couldn't see and would curl up into a little ball wherever it was she'd last seen him. Nothing and no one but Henry himself could move her when she was in that sate. It made things difficult when the police tried to question them. Henry's not sure how they managed to explain that away.

Henry's not really sure how they managed to explain anything though. After running from the burning building it's all blank to him.

"Delayed stress," the cop who was probably a therapist had said after Henry had 'woken up' in an uncomfortable metal chair surrounded by cops. "PTSD. You've survived a tremendous ordeal, both of you, there's going to be some- repercussions."

Sure, Henry had known that already. Eileen had all but battered her way into the room when the therapist tried to close the door, and something tight eased in his chest only when she was close enough for him to hear her breath. Henry didn't need a therapist to tell him about that, and the pamphlets he gave them weren't much more help.

The cops finished their questions days ago though, and now it's just the both of them in their new apartment. It's small enough that Eileen can always see where he is, and Henry can always hear her moving around. It's not what the pamphlets suggest they should be doing, but they're measuring victories in the number of panic attacks between them.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own the characters and story line of Silent Hill 4. -snorts- And if you seriously believe that leave me your contact info and I'll get in touch with you all about that money I'm owed.

Warnings: Set after the games so spoilers for the good ending and the game itself.

Notes: If you haven't figured it out yet, this is going to be a slow moving series. Take from that what you will.

After Ever  
by Fairady

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Henry didn't have a single cent to his name after the lease went through. It wasn't much, but Henry's savings didn't have much to begin with. The bulk of his money was tied up in his equipment, and little things that he'd always figured he could hawk to get quick cash. It was all back at the apartment though. Even if it had survived the fire, Henry sure as hell wasn't going to go back for it.

Eileen had to pay for their food from her quickly dwindling savings account. She gladly would've spent more for furniture and the like, but Henry had to stop her. She still acted with childish irresponsibility and would've spent it all on things they really didn't need. It was better for her to keep her money in the bank for as long as possible. Henry was still waiting for her medical bills to catch up to them.

They didn't need much besides food anyway. They could make do with the questionable mattress and couch the apartment came with, and the clothes he got from Good Will were more than enough for two people who rarely left the safety of their home.

The most expensive things they had to buy were the candles. Creamy white and smelling of sage, he bought them from a new age store in packs of five. Henry had tried some cheap ones from a dollar store once, but they'd both woken up tasting blood that night. He never tried to skimp on those again.

Blankets would have been nice, but weren't necessary yet. Eileen still refused to let Henry out of her sight, even to sleep, and they were more than enough to keep each other warm at night.

It wasn't much, but it was more than enough.

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own the characters and story line of Silent Hill 4. -snorts- And if you seriously believe that leave me your contact info and I'll get in touch with you all about that money I'm owed.

Warnings: Set after the games so spoilers for the good ending and the game itself.

Notes: I'll get around to dialogue. Eventually.

After Ever  
by Fairady

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Henry spends an hour each night checking the apartment over before going to sleep. He tells Eileen he wants to be sure there are no bug infestations. She might even believe him.

He always starts in the bedroom. The closet empty of anything but a few clothes and shoes. The window opens easily and then is promptly locked. There is no phone to check but he pays close attention to every corner of the room. The door is off the hinge and leans against the wall, so he moves it away and checks the wall it hides.

There is no hallway. He's thankful for that mist nights.

The bathroom door opens and the cracked light clicks on with one try. The shower is stained with nothing more than soap scum and neglect. The sink, the water is only brown for a few seconds. The toilet flushes after the second try and actually looks clean. The tiled walls are cracked but whole.

The den only has two lawn chairs. The windows won't open easily but they do open. The radio, wires hang out of it but it still doesn't work when he presses the power button. The closet is empty of everything but the mouse trap that had been there from the beginning. The walls are an off white under the peeling paint that used to be blue.

The kitchen is as small as the bathroom. The cabinet filled only with packaged food and a few dishes. The fridge clean of everything but a few cartons of Chinese food. The stove clean as well and completely unremarkable. The sink not so clean but the water doesn't run with rust either. The wall isn't visible behind the cabinets but he thinks it might be yellow.

He always ends his checks at the door. The peephole, shows an empty hallway and nothing else. The locks turn easily. The chain slides off. The door itself opens when he turns the handle. Their shoes are still where they kicked them off earlier and the floor only has dirt on it.

Henry checks everything thoroughly. Studying each crack and shadow intently, comparing it all to his previous checks.

None of the cracks grow any larger, and no holes suddenly appeared.

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End file.
